It was only earlier today I reported the season two finale of Game of Thrones will include and extra ten minutes, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start talking season three. Entertainment Weekly revealed a partial list of new characters we can expect to see next season. I know, some people might be thinking, “What!? More characters? Just how big of a cast can there be!?” But hey, some of these characters were supposed to appear this season since they’re first introduced in Book Two, A Clash of Kings, so be happy you didn’t have even more names and faces to learn this year.

Showrunner, David Benioff, touched on the problems with their ever growing cast, saying,

It’s important to point out that that we have the largest cast on television right now. We introduced dozens of new characters in season two. If you hurl 300 characters at an audience, the story collapses under the weight of too many faces, too many names, and too many subplots. We need to be just as mindful of the audience members who have never read the books as we are of the readers; the series will fail if we only appeal to those who already know the characters. So we try to be parsimonious about how many new roles we introduce to the story and when we introduce them.

All right, let’s cut to the chase, here’s a list of character confirmed to appear in season three, possible spoilers, be careful,

– Mance Rayder: We’ve heard about him all season. A former member of the Night’s Watch who became the “King Beyond the Wall,” the leader of the Wildlings.

– Beric Dondarrion: A skilled knight who is the leader of the outlaw group Brotherhood Without Banners.

– Thoros of Myr: A red priest who follows the same religion as Melisandre.

– Tormund Giantsbane: A Wildling raider.

These aren’t all the new character we’ll meet, as Benioff adds, “And a few others…holy hell that’s a lot of new faces”

This might not mean a whole lot to those who haven’t read the books, but the Reeds – freakin’ finally! I’m surprised to see Stannis’ wife and daughter as I feared they had just been cut all together. It’s interesting to note we already met Beric Dondarrion, though briefly, in season one. I wonder if that actor will return to reprise the role or if it’ll be a new casting?

Speaking of casting, who do you imagine for these new roles? Olenna Redwyne has to be Maggie Smith, right? It’s so obvious.

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